Wednesday, October 8, 2008

U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told an audience at the second U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday that he would deliver a tough and direct message to Iran that if they did not change their behavior there would be dire consequences.

Obama's opponent, Republican John McCain, reiterated that he would never allow a second Holocaust to take place, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats to "wipe Israel off the map." The Republican candidate also repeated his criticism of Obama's willingness to hold direct negotiations with the Islamic republic, without preconditions.

Americans have funny notions about the world. Right after World War II, Harry S. Truman met Vyachselav Mototov and "gave him hell" over Soviet actions in virtually annexing Poland. Truman was evidently very surprised that his lecture did no good. More than words is needed when dealing with such regimes.